Floyd brown
Alleged Crime(s)
Floyd Brown was arrested in Anson County for the 1993 murder of 80 year-old Kathleen Lynch. On July 9th, Lynch was found in her home beaten to death with a walking stick. There were no eyewitnesses to the murder, but a tip led detectives to a description of the suspect as a black man with a mustache, weighing approximately 150 pounds. Arrest & Trial Brown was arrested on July 16, 1993 in relation to Lynch’s murder, though he did not match the description of the suspect. He allegedly gave a six-page detailed confession to an SBI agent, with information about the time of day and the sequence of events. Based on this confession, absent other physical evidence, Brown was charged with the murder. Brown, who is mentally challenged with an IQ around 50, was judged incapable to stand trial and sent to Dorothea Dix state mental hospital in Raleigh. He was never officially convicted of murdering Lynch. Post-Conviction & Exoneration While Brown was held in Dorothea Dix, various issues emerged including lost physical evidence and evidence of corrupt detectives. Test results of hairs and prints found at Lynch’s home did not match Brown. Furthermore, the authenticity of Brown’s alleged confession to the SBI agent was questioned because he cannot tell accurately tell time and the statement was at a level of oral competency judged too advanced. There were no other witnesses to the confession. Brown’s attorneys argued that his detention was unconstitutional since he was never tried and his right to due process was violated. The attorneys filed a request for the case to be reviewed in Durham County after Anson County District Attorney Michael Parker refused to drop the charge. In October 2007, Durham County Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson Jr. dismissed the charges against Brown based on the unlikely authenticity of the confession. Brown was exonerated in 2007, after spending 14 years detained at Dorothea Dix state mental hospital. |
County: Anson
Crime: Murder Victim(s): Kathleen Lynch Date of Crime: 1993 Date of Conviction: 1993 Date of Exoneration: 2007 Sentence: Detention at Dorothea Dix state mental hospital Race: Black Gender: Male Age at Arrest: 29 Contributing Factors: False Confession, Perjury or False Accusation, Official Misconduct DNA Exoneration: No |